Maher the star on day of high scores

Glamorgan 273 for 2 beat Essex 267 for 6 by 8 wickets at Sophia Gardens
Scorecard
Jimmy Maher belted a magnificent 142 from 113 balls, inclusive of 18 fours and 4 sixes, as Glamorgan sauntered home with 6.5 overs to spare. Essex's total had been inspired by Nasser Hussain's superb 144 and Ronnie Irani's 63. But Maher, and Robert Croft who made 64, made light of the stiff target on a day when bowlers on both sides took some fearful hammer.

Leicestershire 295 for 7 beat Worcestershire 219 by 76 runs at Oakham School
Scorecard
A comfortable victory for Leicestershire. Trevor Ward, with 68, and Virender Sehwag - who slammed three sixes in a blistering 59-ball 76 - gave Leicestershire the perfect start, while Darren Maddy provided the late innings-momentum with 58. Stephen Peters anchored the reply with 82, but Worcestershire were never on the ball as Jeremy Snape and David Brignull both finished with three wickets.

Warwickshire 244 for 4 beat Surrey 242 for 9 by six wickets at Edgbaston
Scorecard
Ian Bell (59*) and Mike Powell (26*) led Warwickshire to an ultimately facile victory after Nick Knight (74) had given the run chase the perfect start. Waqar Younis, who finished with 4 for 35, did the damage early on, before Collins Obuya - with 3 for 65 - mopped up the lower order. Mark Ramprakash held the innings together with 57, but it wasn't enough against a Warwickshire team that was never behind the eight-ball.

Northamptonshire 215 for 7 beat Durham 166 by 49 runs at Chester-le-Street
Scorecard
Another match, another Australian having a party. Mike Hussey carried his bat for a superb 112, before Ben Phillips and Ricaldo Anderson ripped through the fragile Durham batting. As for Shoaib Akhtar, his 9 overs cost 48 runs, for one wicket. Not quite his day, and certainly not Durham's.

Middlesex 337 for 5 beat Somerset 305 for 9 by 32 runs at Southgate
Scorecard
Middlesex triumphed in a run-fest at Southgate. Owais Shah and Andrew Strauss both made 74 in quick time, but it was Abdul Razzaq, who slammed 5 sixes in a 49-ball 79, who provided the impetus as Middlesex cruised past 300. Keith Dutch (65) and Ian Blackwell (64) gave Somerset a chance, but Jamie Dalrymple and Chad Keegan did enough to ensure that Middlesex prevailed.

Nottinghamshire 212 for 5 beat Hampshire 208 for 7 by five wickets at The Rose Bowl
Scorecard
Chris Cairns and Chris Read saw Nottinghamshire home in a thrilling finish with a 55-run partnership. Cairns made 57 from 58 balls, while Read chipped in with an unbeaten 33 after Jason Gallian had nurdled 60 at the top of the order. Hampshire's modest total owed much to Simon Katich's sedate 56, and an unbeaten 45 from South Africa's Nick Pothas.

Derbyshire 235 for 4 beat Sussex 232 for 6 by six wickets at Arundel Castle
Scorecard
A game of two centuries, with Christopher Bassano's being the decisive contribution, as Derbyshire made it past the target with 20 balls remaining. Mohammad Kaif cobbled together 44, and Dominic Hewson - who had earlier snared 4 for 40 - made 34 in support of Bassano's brilliant 126. Murray Goodwin was Sussex's batting hero with a classy 129.